Jags player called up for Spanish duties
Strathspey Thistle manager Brian Ritchie is hoping the post season break will give his time the chance to recuperate from an energy sapping and injury hit season as his squad hobbled over the finish line in 17th place.He said: "In all my years in football both as a player and a manager I have never known a season like this one, in particular over the last couple of months."To end the campaign with so many players sitting in the stand accompanied by crutches is incredible and I hope I never see it again."In that sense it is good that we have the season wrapped up relatively quickly as it will give everyone just over a month off and it is another month and a half on top of that until the first league game of the season so that will give a number of the guys a chance to recover fully without the pressure of trying to be fit too soon."It will be difficult in the sense that a number of them won’t get a full pre-season under their belts and given what we ask of the players that could be seen as a negative, but it is important to get them fully recovered first and foremost and then from there we will have plenty of time to work on their fitness."There was a blow for the Strath boss with the news that Fraser Munro is about to move to Spain due to a 12 month work placement, ruling him out for next season. Ritchie admitted that this has meant he is again scouring the area for talent."The loss of Fraser is a big blow, there is no doubt about that. He has been an important player for us this season and has continued to develop well but it means that I will also be on the search for someone to come in and fill that gap at centre half.""I have never hidden that fact that I am looking for a bit of experience and a bit of quality to the squad. We are looking in particular down the spine of the team and if any one is interested we would be delighted to take them along to pre-season and see how things go from there."Having a big strong experienced centre forward and a quality player for the centre of the midfield would make a big difference and for me there are too many guys just happy to sit on the bench, or worse than that, in the stand. They have the opportunity to come here, feature on a weekly basis and make a name for themselves.""We already have the majority of the squad signed up on new contracts so there is a stability at the club and we are just looking to being in a handful of key players to mix in with the group of guys already on board as we look to progress."
